Family of Norwich steps fall victim thank Good Samaritans

Jon Smith died in October after stumbling backwards and falling down the Red Lion Street steps near Primark in Norwich, having spent the day drinking with friends.

An inquest into the 73-year-old's death heard that members of the public rushed to his aid - including a paramedic-trained barman, a nurse and a firefighter, who were both off duty.

Mr Smith, of Eaton, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital having suffered a bleed on his brain, but died the following day.

A police cordon in place the day after Jon Smith's fall (Image: Newsquest)

After senior coroner Jacqueline Lake concluded his death to have been an accident, his family extended their heartfelt gratitude to those who tried to save him.

Michelle Hindley, his daughter said: "I just want to say a huge thank you to everybody who helped him that night."

The incident happened on Friday, October 27, shortly after 10pm.

In a statement read to the court Matthew Freezer, a friend of Mr Smith, said the pair had met at the Bell in Orford Hill at 11am.

He said they had spent part of the day in the Wetherspoon pub with a mutual friend, before relocating to the Wildman in Bedford Street to watch rugby.

At around 9.50pm, they then returned to the Bell in hopes of hailing a taxi to take Mr Smith home.

Mr Freezer said: "We both walked up the steps and as he reached the second from top step he said: 'Can you grab me... my legs'.

"He then fell backwards and landed on the back of his head."

He added that his friend, who he affectionately referred to as Uncle Jay, fell over moments earlier near the Wildman, but got up unscathed.

Kerry Curl, another witness to his fall, said she had seen him "swaying" as he approached the steps.

FORMER SAILOR

In a statement read to the court, Mrs Hindley said her father was born in Oulton Broad and lived a large proportion of his life in Thurlton.

He attended Thurlton Primary School and Hobart High School in Loddon before joining the Merchant Navy as a teenager.

She said one of his fondest memories was travelling the Suez Canal, but was discharged from service on medical grounds after being diagnosed with epilepsy.

Despite his diagnosis, which saw him suffer seizures throughout his life, he continued to be active and spent 30 years working for Atlas Aggregators as a digger driver. 

Following the death of his wife at the age of 58 in November 2008, he found new ways of occupying himself, including fishing and creative activities.

His seizures later began getting more severe and in January 2014 he suffered an aneurysm, which took five years to recover from.

In 2018 he decided to move to Westfield View in Eaton, into a warden-managed retirement community where he made lots of friends.

She said he also loved to travel and made solo trips to Turkey and the Canary Islands in the latter years of his life.